Books: Is Language Dying?

"A man can learn half a dozen professions by reading Zola," says George
Steiner. And a man can learn the ground rules to half a dozen academic
disciplines by reading Steinerincluding the art of how to package 31
essays into an $8 bundle.

Steiner is one of the few critics today who can make such a package a
bargain at almost any price. Born in Paris of Austrian parents and
educated in France and the U.S., he is at 38 director of English
studies at Cambridge's Churchill College and currently Schweitzer
Visiting Professor...